Bringing under-performing and abandoned solar systems back to life.
An orphaned solar system is a solar power installation originally fitted by a third-party provider who is no longer reachable or in business, leaving the homeowner or business without any active service contract, accessible warranty, or technical support.
The term emerged during the 2022 to 2024 South African load-shedding boom, when hundreds of new solar installers entered the market and many subsequently closed. If your installer no longer answers the phone, your solar system is probably orphaned.
My Solar Friend is Synergy Energy Solutions' rescue service for orphaned solar systems, installations left behind by installers who have closed or vanished. From branches in Pretoria, Cape Town and Polokwane, we repair faulty solar systems, audit them to SANS 10142-1 and NRS 097-2 standards, and handle full Eskom or municipal SSEG registration. Established in 2010, ECA-accredited and PV GreenCard certified, backed by a lifetime workmanship guarantee. SSEG inspection and submission from R8 500; rescue audits from R1 950.
Whether your installer has vanished, your batteries are tripping, your inverter is faulting, or your system is unregistered, My Solar Friend delivers expert solar system repair, compliance audits, SANS 10142 sign-off, and full SSEG registration with Eskom or your municipality, from branches in Pretoria, Cape Town and Polokwane. Eskom has waived their own fees until 30 September 2026, our inspection and submission service starts from R8 500.
My Solar Friend, how we rescue, repair and re-certify orphaned solar systems across South Africa.
Too many South African households bought solar at the height of load-shedding panic, from installers now out of business. The panels still sit on the roof. The inverter still hums. But performance degrades, batteries fail early, warranties become unclaimable, and nobody answers the phone.
My Solar Friend conducts a comprehensive site inspection to verify every component complies with SANS 10142-1 and NRS 097-2, recovers warranty claims where possible, and maximises the energy savings you were originally promised. From Pretoria to Cape Town to Polokwane, we are the service partner your original installer never became.
Established in 2010, Synergy Energy Solutions is an ECA-accredited, PV GreenCard certified solar installer with over 16 years of experience and a standing commitment to keep you, and your investment, safe.
New to solar or planning a fresh install? Start with our South African solar buyer's guide, explore commercial & agricultural solar, or see real results in our installation case studies.
Every rescue we conduct surfaces issues from at least two of these categories. Our detailed audit process catches the ones you cannot see.
No surprise invoices. No mystery delays. Every phase is scoped, priced, and approved in writing before we lift a single tool.
A free 15 to 20 minute call or WhatsApp chat to understand your system's history and performance objectives.
You receive a detailed line-item quotation, no on-site work without your written approval.
Comprehensive inspection from rooftop panels down to battery banks, scheduled within 3 to 5 working days.
Within 2 to 3 business days of inspection, a prioritised report separates critical remediation from performance upgrades.
On sign-off, repairs are scheduled within 7 to 10 working days, culminating in a SANS 10142-1 Certificate of Compliance.
Choose from three SLA-backed support packages for proactive care, rapid response, and remote system health checks.
Under Schedule 2 of the Electricity Regulation Act, every grid-connected solar system under 100 kVA must be registered with Eskom or your municipality, even if it does not export power to the grid.
On 26 March 2026, Eskom extended its own fee waiver to 30 September 2026. Eligible residential systems up to 50 kVA currently pay zero Eskom registration, connection and smart-meter fees.
Eskom's connection, application & smart-meter fees waived for a typical 16 kVA system
Inspection, CoC, NRS 097-2 report & full SSEG submission to Eskom or municipality
Getting your system ready for registration still requires professional work: a full on-site compliance inspection, bringing wiring and earthing up to SANS 10142-1 standards where necessary, producing the NRS 097 inverter test report, issuing a Certificate of Compliance, and submitting the full SSEG application on your behalf.
If additional remedial work is needed to bring your system up to standard, we quote that separately in writing before any work begins, no surprises.
Since 1 October 2025, a Department of Labour-registered person can sign off your application, no ECSA engineer required. Our team handles the entire process in Pretoria, Cape Town or Polokwane.
Get my system registeredUnder Schedule 2 of the Electricity Regulation Act, every grid-connected solar system under 100 kVA must be registered with Eskom or your municipality, even if it does not export power to the grid.
Eskom's connection, application and smart-meter fees now apply to all new SSEG registrations. The exact figure depends on your system size, supply phase and metering, but most residential installations face R8 000 to R12 000 in Eskom-side costs on top of any required compliance work.
Inspection, CoC, NRS 097-2 report & full SSEG submission to Eskom or municipality
Our service plus typical Eskom fees, paid as one transparent invoice, no surprise municipal charges
Getting your system registered still requires professional work: a full on-site compliance inspection, bringing wiring and earthing up to SANS 10142-1 standards where necessary, producing the NRS 097 inverter test report, issuing a Certificate of Compliance, and submitting the full SSEG application on your behalf.
We pre-pay Eskom's fees on your behalf so you receive one consolidated invoice, and we quote any remedial work separately in writing before any work begins, no surprises.
A Department of Labour-registered person on our team signs off your application, no ECSA engineer required. We handle the entire process in Pretoria, Cape Town or Polokwane.
Get my system registeredAny repairs needed to bring your system up to SANS standards are quoted separately before work begins. Eskom's own connection fees are currently waived for systems up to 50 kVA until 30 September 2026. Any repairs needed to bring your system up to SANS standards are quoted separately before work begins. Eskom's own connection, application and smart-meter fees apply on top, we pre-pay these and bill you once.
Pricing scales with your system size, because a 5 kW residential hybrid and a 20 kW three-phase commercial system are genuinely different jobs. The figures below are starting points, your free assessment confirms the exact quote for your installation.
One-off on-site diagnostic & remedial quote. Final fee depends on number of panels, batteries and inverters. Fully credited against the repair work if you proceed within 90 days.
Best for: most residential rescues post-repair. Office-hours help, annual review, priority response. Larger homes scale up from here.
For commercial sites, farms & high-value hybrid systems. Proactive monitoring with rapid SLA response. Final cost reflects number of inverters, batteries & monitored load groups.
All figures are starting prices for typical residential installations. Pricing scales with system size, number of inverters and batteries, monitoring complexity, and on-site accessibility. A free site assessment confirms your exact quote in writing before any work begins. Prices exclude VAT and travel outside our standard service radius.
From our branches in Gauteng, Western Cape and Limpopo, we dispatch to surrounding suburbs and towns, ask us about your area when you book.
Serving Pretoria, Centurion, Midrand, Johannesburg East & West, Roodepoort, Kempton Park, Benoni and surrounding Gauteng suburbs.
Serving Cape Town, Table View, Bellville, Durbanville, Stellenbosch, Somerset West, and the greater Cape Peninsula.
Serving Polokwane, Tzaneen, Bela-Bela, Mokopane, Louis Trichardt, Musina and the wider Limpopo province.
Built specifically for owners whose original installer is gone, unreachable, or unhelpful.
| Typical installer | My Solar Friend | |
|---|---|---|
| Services third-party installations | ✗ Own clients only | ✓ All third-party systems |
| Brand-agnostic repairs | Preferred brands only | ✓ Sunsynk, Deye, Victron, Tesla, Sigenergy, Fronius, Solis, SMA |
| Full Eskom/municipal SSEG registration | At additional cost | ✓ Included in scope |
| Workmanship guarantee | 12 months typical | Lifetime (with active support plan) terms apply |
| Transparent published pricing | ✗ Hourly, open-ended | ✓ Published tiers & monthly SLAs |
| Branches across SA | Single-region only | ✓ Pretoria · Cape Town · Polokwane |
| Tiered maintenance SLAs | ✗ Ad-hoc callouts | ✓ Core / Plus / Premium |
| ECA accreditation & PV GreenCard | Varies widely | ✓ Verified & listed |
Three reasons thousands of South African solar owners trust us to keep their systems compliant, performing and supported.
Over 16 years of continuous solar operations in South Africa, we have weathered every market cycle from early grid-tied PV to the post-load-shedding rescue era.
Our technicians are cross-trained on every major inverter, battery and panel brand in SA, and deeply familiar with NERSA, SANS 10142-1, NRS 097, and municipal SSEG requirements.
Every joint, crimp, cable run and inverter parameter we set is guaranteed for as long as you hold an active support plan with us. No hidden expiries, no small-print escape clauses. terms apply
Transparency is part of the Synergy Energy promise. Below is exactly what our workmanship guarantee includes, and the manufacturer-equipment matters that fall outside its scope.
Our guarantee covers the quality of the work we perform, not the equipment that other manufacturers built.Contact us by phone on 010 601 6464, WhatsApp on 069 272 5602, or via the booking form. We respond within your support plan's SLA window.
For claims that fall under a manufacturer warranty rather than our workmanship guarantee, we will manage the manufacturer claim on your behalf where possible, see your support plan terms for details on coverage of these liaison hours.
These terms are summarised here for clarity and form part of every Synergy Energy Solutions service agreement. Full warranty conditions are issued in writing with each completed work order. The guarantee does not affect your statutory rights as a consumer under South African law.
The most common questions from rescue clients, about timing, pricing, registration and what happens next.
Every workmanship component of a My Solar Friend rescue is backed by our Lifetime Workmanship Guarantee, for as long as you own the system and hold an active support plan with us.
What that covers: the cable connections, terminations, conduit, earthing, mounting and software/parameter setup that we performed. Newly installed components carry their respective manufacturer warranties (typically 5 to 10 years).
What it does not cover: failure of the equipment or switchgear itself, including panels, inverters, batteries, isolators, breakers, fuses and metering, which fall under the relevant manufacturer's warranty. The guarantee also does not cover damage from lightning, surge, flood, theft, vandalism, weather events, or work modified by another contractor after our handover.
A detailed warranty summary accompanies every repair quotation. Full terms are set out in the Workmanship Guarantee Terms section above.
Real reviews from real Synergy customers, sourced directly from our Google Business Profile.
"I couldn't be more thrilled with my decision to go solar, and Synergy Energy Solutions made the entire process seamless and enjoyable. From the initial consultation to the final installation, their professionalism, expertise, and dedication to customer satisfaction were evident every step of the way. The installation crew was punctual, efficient, and left my property spotless."
"Thank you Jacques and Jaco from Synergy Energy Solutions. Your professionalism and excellent service resulted in a great solar installation and solution. We are very happy and would recommend you to anyone looking for a residential or commercial solution. We can vouch for both. Well done."
"What an absolute pleasure to have Synergy as my solar provider. After I have been scammed previously by a 'reputable' company, I was unsure where to turn next. Synergy was recommended and from day one they exceeded my wildest expectations. Very professional, always friendly, prompt service and the list goes on. Thank you Jean and team, you guys rock!"
"What a pleasure to deal with Synergy, it's a company with experience and after-care service. Jacques always takes my calls (and there were many) during and after the installation, always willing to assist, always monitoring our system for optimal usage. Our site was always clean, they were always on time. Jacques and team, thank you, it's much appreciated."
"Synergy Energy Solutions is an excellent company, very good workmanship as requested. The system looks neat and professional. Thank you also for the over-and-above tasks that were performed for the preparation of the installation. The system has been running for a month now, I was always immediately assisted by competent personnel. The form, fit and function of the system is awesome!"
"I have used Synergy Solutions to do solar installations on two separate occasions. In both instances I found them to be speedy, professional, friendly and extremely competent. I can highly recommend them."
Read all 73 reviews on our Google Business Profile.
We service and repair systems built around all the major brands listed above, but we are not the manufacturer's warranty issuer for any of them. Equipment, switchgear, panel and battery warranties are issued by the manufacturer (typically 5 to 10 years) and any claim, repair or replacement under those warranties is decided by the manufacturer alone.
Important to knowManufacturers can, and do, deny warranty claims when the original installation does not meet their technical specifications. This is a real risk for orphaned systems, where the installer who did the wiring, mounting, or commissioning may have cut corners. Where this happens, the manufacturer's decision is final.
Our commitmentSynergy Energy is committed to assisting our clients through the warranty claim process from start to finish, preparing technical reports, photographs and fault diagnostics, liaising directly with the manufacturer, and where a claim is unfairly denied, advocating for resolution on your behalf. We can't guarantee the outcome, but we can guarantee we'll fight for it.
See full Workmanship Guarantee TermsPV GreenCard certified · ECA accredited · SAPVIA member. The PV GreenCard is the industry-led quality label that ensures a high standard of safety and workmanship for small-scale solar PV installations across South Africa.
Talk to an engineer who will tell you the truth about your installation, and register it legally with Eskom while the fee waiver is still in effect.Talk to an engineer who will tell you the truth about your installation, and get it registered legally, predictably priced, no surprises.
One of our solar engineers will be in touch to discuss your system, schedule a free site assessment, and walk you through next steps.
Prefer to talk now? Call us on 010 601 6464 · WhatsApp 069 272 5602